1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical device of the type having a needle and a shield for covering a point of the needle after the device is used. The present invention more particularly concerns a syringe-type device with a shield for the needle, the shield being operatively attached to the syringe so that it may be locked in a position which covers the needle point thereby protecting personnel who work with these types of medical devices.
2. Background Description
Personnel in hospitals, medical laboratories, doctors offices and the like face the risk of being stuck with sharp points on needles, blades and other devices used for bodily invasive purposes. After any of these sharp-pointed devices are used in an invasive procedure, they may be contaminated as a result of any infectious diseases or conditions carried by the patient. The infectious disease may be transmitted to any person who is working with these devices and who inadvertently or carelessly gets stuck.
Many sharp-pointed medical devices, such as needles, are originally packaged with a cover which is removable just prior to use. Problems have arisen in the past when medical personnel have attempted to re-shield the device after use. Medical personnel frequently have stuck themselves while attempting these re-shielding procedures and, as a result, re-shielding is not recommended in most of these procedures. To avoid these circumstances, sharp-pointed medical devices are being designed with built-in shields. These shields are normally attached to, but moved out of the way of, the sharp point during use of the medical device. After use, the shield is generally movable, in some fashion, to cover the sharp point so that no one may be stuck.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,018, a syringe device is described which includes a movable needle shield. In this patent, the shield is locked at the extended position at which the shield covers the needle. The benefits of using a rotational movement to lock the shield in place are explained in this patent.
Although medical devices have been described with lockable shields, in which the shield is movable in one or more directions, further improvements are still being sought and are needed in this field. These sought-after needs include improvements in ease of use, efficiency of manufacture and assembly, lower costs of manufacture and packaging and compatibility with existing procedures in the various medical facilities. The present invention represents such an improvement.